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Lebanon fails for 7th time to elect new president amid political deadlock

November 24, 2022 at 8:38 pm

Deputies attend the session in the parliament as the assembly recommend Mikati’s government to stay on the post in Bierut, Lebanon on November 03, 2022. [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]

Lebanese lawmakers, on Thursday, failed for a seventh time to elect a new president as the country grapples with a deepening political and economic crisis, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The voting session was attended by 110 lawmakers of the 128-member Parliament.

Michel Moawad, a candidate backed by the Lebanese Forces party, got 42 votes, well short of the figure needed to win the first round, while 50 lawmakers cast blank ballots.

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Speaker, Nabih Berri, set the next voting session for a week from now, on 1 December.

A candidate needs two-thirds of the vote (86 lawmakers) in the 128-member Parliament to get through the first stage, while an absolute majority is needed in subsequent rounds.

Former President, Michel Aoun, left office on 31 October after completing a six-year term, without lawmakers agreeing on a successor.

Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a crippling economic crisis that, according to the World Bank, is one of the worst the world has seen in modern times.

The country has been without a fully functioning government since May, with Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, and his Cabinet having limited powers in their current caretaker status.

Nabih Berri: Lebanon’s longest-serving Arab parliament speaker